U’khand event brings to fore yoga benefits

The festival at Yoga Bharat Ghat, which will be held from March 1 to 7, was inaugurated by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday.

The International Yoga Festival in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh has been recording a huge influx of tourists from across the world to attend interactive sessions on the importance of the traditional practice in daily routine by renowned experts.

CM Pushkar Singh Dhami during the inauguration of the event. (HT)

The festival at Yoga Bharat Ghat, which will be held from March 1 to 7, was inaugurated by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday.

Addressing the inaugural event, Dhami said: “I feel privileged to inaugurate the yoga festival in the land of yoga, in Dev Bhoomi, the land of Gods, especially finding myself among renowned yoga teachers who have taken yoga to every nook and corner of the globe.”

He added: “We all go through tense situations in life. Through meditation and yoga, we can alleviate our stress levels. Till we don’t have peace of mind, we cannot have peace and harmony in the body.”

Dhami said yoga and Ayush have proved their utility in building immunity during the Covid-19 pandemic and asked people to make them a part of their daily routine.

“Yoga has been a part of our lives since times immemorial and without it, peace of the heart and soul is not possible. Though the power of yoga was always acknowledged in the country, it was recognised all the more at the peak of the pandemic,” he said.

The yoga festival will give people an opportunity to understand the nuances of the ancient discipline, fight diseases and stay healthy, he added.

The chief minister said that Uttarakhand is not only the cultural capital of the country but also the excellent centre of yoga and wellness. The government is continuously working to develop yoga and wellness centres in the state, he said.

Dhami credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with helping yoga attain international recognition and said it has become a lifestyle all over the world. “The Prime Minister has made yoga popular across the globe. Today, people across the world are adopting the Indian wellness traditions,” he said.

State tourism minister Satpal Maharaj, who was also present at the event, said yoga has played a special role in promoting religious tourism in the state.

“Yoga, developed by our ancient seers, helps in achieving harmony in mind and body. In 1970, foreigners who used to come here for yoga would find it difficult to sit in a squatting position. But now, they are coming here in huge numbers and easily doing yogic asanas,” he said.

Padma Shri awardee Swami Shivanand and Padma Vibhushan awardee Rajnikant were also present at the inaugural ceremony.

The event is witnessing the participation of instructors from six yoga institutes – Isha Foundation, Art of Living, Ramamani Iyengar Smruti Yoga Sansthan, Kaivalyadhama, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, and Sivananda Yoga School.